Wake Forest Honors 2009 ACC Legend Alice Neal Maneval
Maneval a key piece of the historic 1987-88 squad

March 2, 2009

Maneval Clippings and Photos

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest women's basketball team is currently preparing for the opening round of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament on Thursday. As part of the ACC postseason festivities, the team will honor this year's Wake Forest ACC Legend, Alice Neal Maneval, who was a crucial part of the most historic season in program history.

Legends from all 12 schools will be recognized during the ACC Legends Luncheon on Friday, March 6 in Greensboro, as well as on the court at halftime of the first semifinal tournament game on Saturday, March 7.

This year the Demon Deacons have posted 18 wins, the second most single-season victories of all the past teams, dating back to 1971 when the program began. The only team that has logged more W's is the 1987-88 squad that finished 23-8 and made an appearance at the NCAA Tournament.

Several members of this legendary team have been recognized by the conference, including Amy Privette Perko, Wake's ACC Legend in 2005 and 2007 Academic All-America Hall of Fame inductee, and Jenny Mitchell, Wake Forest's all-time leading scorer that earned a place in the league's 50th Anniversary Team.

Mitchell and Perko may have been the team's leading scorers, but this year Wake Forest wanted to honor Alice Neal Maneval, a talented guard and one of the most accurate shooters in Wake Forest history.

"Wake Forest really teaches you how to be a better person, it really prepares you for life after graduation. The organizational skills that I learned from managing basketball and school are the same skills I use today, trying to manage having a job and being a mom." Alice Neal Maneval

Maneval lettered from 1986-89 and was widely praised as a dedicated worker who earned respect for her leadership on and off the court. She became the fifth member of Wake Forest's 1,000 point club and in her junior season she helped lead the squad to its first ever national ranking (16 AP/USA Today), picking up 1988 First Team All-ACC Tournament honors along the way.

In her senior season Maneval was a co-captain and the team's leading scorer. She shot 88.9 percent from the free throw line, which still stands as the best single-season percentage in the Wake Forest record books. By the conclusion of her collegiate tenure, Maneval made marks in Wake's career performance lists which still stand today: she has the ninth highest point total, seventh most field goals, third best field goal percentage, third best free throw percentage, fifth most steals and sixth most assists.

After graduation Maneval began work at a nursing home where she was the activities director. She eventually married Tory Maneval, a former Wake Forest football player, and moved to Pennsylvania.

Maneval tried her hand at a "desk job" but decided it just wasn't her thing. She used her health and exercise science degree from Wake Forest to enter nursing school. Maneval now works at a rural Level 1 trauma center where she is a clinical nurse educator.

"In essence, I'm their coach," Maneval said. "It's like combining two things that I love."

Maneval is coming up on the 20 year anniversary of her graduation from Wake Forest. Looking back, Maneval says there are many important things she was able to gain from her four years as a letterwinner for the Demon Deacons.

"It helped strengthen my already strong sense of family. We were really close and I learned a lot from the people that were there," Maneval said.

"Wake Forest really teaches you how to be a better person, it really prepares you for live after graduation. The organizational skills that I learned from managing basketball and school are the same skills I use today, trying to manage having a job and being a mom."

Alice and her husband Troy currently reside in Burwick, PA., with their three-and-a-half year old son Trace.